Hi Karl, after quite some i saw your crations here. May be i missed in the meantime. To me you are one of the masters of larch bonsai -yamadories collected from Swiss Alps and converted to beautiful Bonsai. The beautiful Bali visit pics that you posted earlier are still fresh in my mind. These present compositions( perfect emphasis /balance of tree& pot )are fine example of your creative talent .I don like the virtual pots shown to your post. it de-emphasize the tree . the half round pot it seems to me is loud and may ding-dong like a pendulam. I also did not relish the rude remarks made to you -not to my taste even in friendly banter.

I will never forget first day first class first hour on art school. On the black board it was written in capital letters:ART HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEAUTY.And then the teacher said 'never forget this for a second if you want to be an artist'.

If an artist under this understanding is accused of 'ugly', 'tasteless', 'in bad taste' creations it is a compliment among the art school insiders. If they say 'what you are doing is so beautiful' they mean its kistsch, it's of bad taste, it is commercial, it is art prostitution.

So this is exactly the contrary notion of what the general bonsai crowd thinks. I was being very kind to Karl, who understands very well what this is all about.

The "cavity" is a great composition. I'm a bit less enthusiastic about the octopus (not seeing anything octopussish in it), but that's probably just me. The existing pots don't bother me particularly. They're rather plain so don't steal the eye like those bowls later on do. The cavity would, however, look nice on a simple slate slab. Please, though, none of those ostentatious marble thingies.

_________________Jim Lewis - lewisjk@windstream.net - Western NC - People, when Columbus discovered this country, it was plumb full of nuts and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just about all gone. Uncle Dave Macon, old-time country musician

MR. Walter Pall, thank you for the fine enlightenment on artistic vocabulary( to me now it seems tongue -in -the -cheek- Austrian humour !). It reminds me that in Bengal , my home state in India there is a proverb in Bengali which means " to praise in disguise of insult" .Such poetic usage in epitomed in a long verbal duel between Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati- where the words that were used have double and opposite meaning- but that is a long story - which other may not be interested in.I find your clarification quite interesting and true to your style . Thank you so much. soumya

Walter Pall wrote:Karl, your trees are so incredibly ugly and unorthodox. They are in traditional and boring and beautiful pots. I think this is a mistake. They should be in ugly unorthodox pots or on stones.

How come Austrians have such bad taste?

Hi Walter, thanks for your compliments. For these trees to find a suitable pot is not easy. Nebari the Kraken is 45 cm and 70 cm from the tree cavity. I think there in the future for the octopus a suitable pot.

This to me is amost the perfect combination. It is a splendid tree, Karl, but in my VERY humble opinion it was rendered a bit non-descript by the original pot. Walter's stone makes for a wonderful unity which lifts both tree and "pot" into the realms of work of art.

Quite exquisite.

Last edited by fiona on Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

Walter - it is - Beauty is Truth Unhidden - Beauty can be terrible and awesome, not just pretty. In the world of Art, you will see all the aspects of Beauty. Trouble is Truth and Reality in a painting are not the same.

Carl, I often discourage the use of the word, Sculpture when applied to Bonsai, because of the long intellectual discussions that will spring up, as to what Sculpture is.

That said, visually very satisfying images. Wish I could see them in the flesh.Thanks for showing.Khaimraj

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:Carl, I often discourage the use of the word, Sculpture when applied to Bonsai, because of the long intellectual discussions that will spring up, as to what Sculpture is.

Bonsai IS sculpture. There is no doubt about that.Is this sculpture? - http://biginjapan.com.au/2010/09/weed-control/ Yes it is!"Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials, typically stone such as marble, metal, glass, or wood, or plastic materials such as clay, textiles, polymers and softer metals. The term has been extended to works including sound, text and light."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpture

try thinking about the impermanence of a bonsai as regards styling. So if you hit an optimum point, and the tree eventually grows beyond it. You need a photograph or some sort of image to remind the viewer of the glory that once was.

Do you know how many elderly people I have been around who start statements with [ about their trees ] - you know it used to be better.

Do you know what the does to a person internally, and with no such visual proof ?Better to try your hand at stone or wood or something more lasting.

Sorry, my stand against the use of the word, deals with the man/woman and his/her spirit and not intellectual debates.Thanks for replying.Khaimraj

In times [ or zones ] of lesiure, man's mind turns to keeping itself occupied. What's it about decadence?

Remember, I am talking about an individual caring for a living thing, totally dependent on it's survival from the individual. The bond. AND the effect the impermance has on the person, while they try to relate to others about things past.- It once looked like that - Khaimraj

I share a stand every year with a good friend of mine who is a sculptor. He produces fantastic and dark sculptures made from what he finds in the forest. Part of the art process, is the gradual decay and mortality of the pieces.